HUNTSVILLE, Ala. and AUSTIN, Texas — Today, Davidson and Strangeworks announced a collaboration centered on quantum-enabled optimization. The advanced technology firms plan to leverage hybrid quantum solutions with the goal of improving complex mission planning.
With a vested interest in quantum optimization outcomes, both companies plan to launch a joint proof-of-concept initiative in the coming weeks, with the hopes of enhancing decision support in the spaces of defense logistics, resource allocation, and operational readiness.
Davidson’s mission and defense engineering expertise complement Strangeworks’ heterogeneous computing and optimization capabilities.
“We’re eager to apply emerging technology to real mission needs,” said Nathan Klose, Davidson Labs VP. “Collaborating with Strangeworks gives us another way to rigorously compare advanced computational approaches and determine where we can improve the speed and quality of defense decision-making.”
The collaboration adds commercial depth to Huntsville, Alabama’s emerging quantum-focused defense ecosystem, which includes the Southeastern Quantum Collaborative, an organization Davidson supported in its earliest days, as a founding member.
“Davidson understands the operational realities behind some of defense’s hardest optimization problems,” said Strangeworks founder and CEO Will Hurley, who goes by whurley. “Together, we can test those problems against the best available classical, quantum-inspired, and quantum resources, focusing on solutions that produce measurable value.”
In the companies’ first shared appearance, whurley will join Davidson’s team, including Klose, at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville. Between August 11 and 13, organizers expect more than 9,000 attendees at the Von Braun Center.
Following the symposium, Davidson and Strangeworks will identify operationally relevant defense use cases and apply defense engineering and mission-domain knowledge to the problem sets. Any potential solutions will emphasize security, deployment practicality, and improved outcomes – leading to faster, higher-quality decision support.
About Davidson:
Davidson is an advanced aerospace and defense technology company celebrating 30 years in business. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, the firm specializes in missile defense, electronic warfare, cyber, AL/ML, and quantum computing applications for the U.S. military.
About Strangeworks and whurley:
Since 2018, Strangeworks has used quantum-informed techniques to solve optimization challenges for customers, benefiting supply chains, energy grids and financial portfolios. Its founder, whurley, an Eisenhower Fellow, is a serial entrepreneur whose companies have sold to Goldman Sachs and Accenture.
